


Free

by Acaeria



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Comfort, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-19
Updated: 2016-02-19
Packaged: 2018-05-21 16:46:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6058663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acaeria/pseuds/Acaeria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Hey, Chat?” she asks, breaking the silence. He turns his head to look at her, and is surprised to see her expression; thoughtful yet miserable, eyes red as if she’d been crying. “Why… Why do you do this?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Free

**Author's Note:**

> guess who fell headfirst into another fandom ???? yeah,,, these two kill me a little inside i love them so much. this is just a short thing to get the hang of writing them, and it's also an attempt to get my thoughts on the show out. because the thing i love most about it is not the relationships or even the plot; it's that it's about these two kids who get to become a different version of themselves to real life; a more perfect, truer version of themselves. An idealised version of themselves that, at once, both doesn't exist and was within them all along.
> 
> ...i'll stop gushing now. i'd appreciate any feedback you have !

It’s not the first time he’s found himself sat atop the Eiffel Tower, city lights glittering below and stars shining above, the sound of traffic and chatter far, far away. And it’s not the first time she’s joined him there, either, just the two of them, watching over Paris like they were its guardians.

Which, he guessed, they kind of were.

“Hey, Chat?” she asks, breaking the silence. He turns his head to look at her, and is surprised to see her expression; thoughtful yet miserable, eyes red as if she’d been crying. “Why… Why do you do this?”

He startled, blinking at her in surprise. “Well, to clear my head, I guess-”

“No, not this,” she says, shaking her head. “Why do you do this? Be Chat Noir? Why do you keep doing it?”

“Ah.” He pauses, formulating reply. “I guess it’s because…” The words die on his tongue. He knows what he wants to say, he just can’t put it into words. He tries again. “My entire life, there’s always been someone, telling me who I had to be. What I had to be. Be polite, be prudent, be perfect. And… that’s not me. I’m not perfect. And when I’m Chat? I can be whoever I want to be. I don’t have to be that person. I can be more… myself.”

She’s staring at him; her gaze burns into his cheek, her eyes glinting in the light. He turns his head so that they’re face-to-face. 

“But… All the lying, the hiding, the things you miss out on, the people you hurt… It doesn’t stop you?”

“I don’t think anyone would miss me if I was gone,” he tells her honestly. “They’d miss their doll, but they wouldn’t miss me.” She sniffs, and he realises that she’s crying; there are tears in her eyes and her breath is shaky. “Whoa, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I just-” she struggled for words, wiping at her nose with the back of her hand. “All the secrets. All the lies. They’re tearing me up inside and I’m hurting other people. I’m letting down my friends, disappointing my parents… I’m starting to think it’s not worth it.”

His stomach clenches with sudden fear; fear of losing his ladybug. “So why are you still here?” he asks her. “I’ve told you why I do this. We’ve been doing this for a while now, so what’s changed?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t know. I just… I’m an entirely different person when I’m not Ladybug.” 

“Different how?” he asks. He can’t imagine her being drastically different at all. She always seems so genuine.

“I’m clumsy, and I mess up, and I ruin things, and I’m just quiet and boring and… Nobody, really.” She gives a snorting laugh through her tears, but it’s not a kind laugh. “Ladybug is perfect. She’s cool and kind and she saves people, she saves the day. And I’m… not. I’m everything Ladybug isn’t.” She hugs her knees to her chest.

“But you are Ladybug,” he tells her. She shakes her head. 

“I’m not.”

“But you are! Listen, Milady, I’ve been working with you for a long time, now. I know next to nothing about you; I don’t even know your name! But I know you better than anyone. You’re strong, and hard working, and kind; you pretend to hate my puns and you’re always there to save the day and you’re  _ genuine _ . You’re the most genuine person I know.”

She smiles through her tears. “Thanks, Chat. I appreciate it. But you don’t know me behind the mask.”

“But you’re still the person I trust most. And, if you were to ever take the mask off… I wouldn’t mind. I’m sure the girl under it is just as amazing as you are.”

She sniffs, wiping at her face. “Ugh, I’m a mess,” she says. “Being Ladybug is supposed to be a release from real life, not a chance to cry about it.”

“You can’t escape your problems forever. They catch up to you eventually.”

“I suppose,” she sighs. “But Ladybug’s problems aren’t mine. I can get away from them for a while.”

“It’s nice,” he agrees. “It’s a lot like…”

“Being free,” they chorus, staring out at the parisian lights. 

After a while, she stands up. “Well, I have to go,” she says, ever the picture of composure. It’s almost hard to believe that she was crying just a minute ago. “See you, Chat. Oh, and for the record? I’m not pretending. I really do hate your puns.”

She swings away on her yo-yo, leaving him to stare after her. “Hey, come back!” he yells. “What do you mean, you hate my puns? They’re  _ paw _ sitively  _ purr _ fect!” 


End file.
